James Ford, better known by the alias Sawyer, and known to the DHARMA Initiative as Jim LaFleur, is one of the middle section survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. His rural Southern accent, selfishness, machismo, and folksy use of oft-abrasive nicknames belied his sophisticated and tender sides as an avid reader and a caring lover—elements of his personality that started to become more apparent as he spent more time on the Island.

On the Island, Sawyer used his skills as a confidence man to accomplish various ends. He hoarded material possessions to leverage power, leading to his involvement in several "A-missions". His acts of rebellion led him to, at various times, become the most hated survivor on the island, though he still formed bonds with several survivors.

Sawyer developed a romantic relationship with Kate and later into a fully committed one with Juliet, and his jealousy sparked a rivalry with Jack.

In an early attempt at rescue, Sawyer left the Island along with Jin, Michael and Walt on Michael's raft but was forced to return when Walt was kidnapped by The Others and the raft was blown up by the Others. They washed up on shore and met up with the previously unknown tail section survivors of Flight 815 and returned to camp. After pulling off a long con, he gained control of all the guns and a position of power over the other survivors. He was later captured by the Others, along with Jack and Kate, as a result of Michael's betrayal. While with the Others, Sawyer and Kate were used as leverage to convince Jack to perform surgery on their leader, Benjamin Linus, until he and Kate eventually escaped. Sawyer was asked by John Locke to kill a man, Anthony Cooper, who was revealed to be the real "Sawyer". After Jack called the freighter for rescue, Sawyer joined Locke and a small number of survivors sheltered in the Barracks.

When the Oceanic Six left in the helicopter, Sawyer heroically jumped into the ocean, when the chopper was running low on fuel. He and a small group of survivors underwent time shifts as a result of Ben moving the Island. He led the small group until a final time shift, where they were stuck in 1974. Sawyer joined the DHARMA Initiative and eventually became their head of security. He began a relationship with Juliet and they lived together during the 1970s until Jack, Hurley and Kate returned to the Island following the crash of Ajira Airways 316.

Sawyer joined the Man in Black upon meeting him, although he ultimately betrayed him while boarding Widmore's submarine to escape the Island. The Man in Black however, had conned Sawyer into stealing the sub so that he could kill the remaining candidates with a bomb. After the explosion, Sawyer was knocked unconscious and brought ashore to safety by Jack. While Jack was preventing the Island from being destroyed, Sawyer managed to escape on the Ajira plane with Kate, Claire, Frank, Richard, and Miles.

In the flash sideways, Sawyer was a police detective rather than a crook. Eventually, he was reunited with his true love, Juliet Burke, and they moved on together with their friends.

Contents

Before the crash

Childhood

James Ford was born in 1968 in Jasper, Alabama. When he was eight, a man known as "Sawyer" slept with his mother, claiming he'd take her out of Alabama. The man swindled the family out of all their savings, enraging James's father. He shot his wife then turned the gun on himself, while young James hid under the bed and watched. At the funeral, James began writing a letter to the con man, vowing to find him one day and kill him. A stranger gave him a pen when his dried out, and he finished the letter, though he promised his uncle he wouldn't. ("Outlaws") ("The Incident, Part 1")

James dropped out of school in the ninth grade. At 19, he was $6,000 in debt, and he tried the confidence trick his nemesis has used to obtain the money. He later adopted the name of his enemy. Though he continued tracking the original Sawyer to take revenge, he became the very man he hunted. ("Confidence Man")

Life as a con man

James often employed his earlier con. At one point, James was just about to succeed in swindling a couple, Jessica and David, out of $160,000, but when he discovered that they had a young son, he abruptly called off the deal. Unlike his nemesis, James drew the line at harming children in his cons; seeing the boy wracked him with guilt and he did not want to force a child to go through what he had.

A later victim, Cassidy, saw through the trick and Sawyer took her on as an apprentice, teaching her how to run small cons, but Cassidy was actually the victim of a "long con" scheme all along. Sawyer seemed genuinely fond of Cassidy, and for a while considered abandoning the scam. His partner in the con though forced his hand by threatening Cassidy's life. Cassidy gave him up to the authorities on the advice of Kate, whom she met shortly after the relationship ended. ("Confidence Man") ("The Long Con") ("Left Behind")

The court sentenced him to approximately seven years. About nine months into the sentence, Cassidy visited, saying she'd given birth to his child, Clementine. The warden commuted the last six years of Sawyer's sentence in exchange for conning a fellow prisoner into revealing where he'd stashed stolen money. He deposited his commission from the deal anonymously in an account in Clementine's name. ("Every Man for Himself") After his release, he and Hibbs participated in the Tampa Job, which by accounts did not turn out well for him. ("Outlaws")

Flight 815

Hibbs later approached James, claiming the original Sawyer was named Frank Duckett and lived in Sydney. James traveled to Australia, and while there, a man's car door hit him. ("Two for the Road") Sawyer visited a bar and met Christian Shephard, who talked about his son and encouraged Sawyer to finish the business he planned to do. With this in mind, James met Duckett and shot him. He realized right after though that Hibbs had tricked him again - Duckett was innocent. James ran. ("Outlaws")

He later got into a bar fight and head-butted the Australian Minister of Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry. Police dragged him to the station, passing a young man, and ordered him deported to America on Oceanic Flight 815. He never returned to Australia again. ("Hearts and Minds") ("Exodus, Part 1")

On the Island

Days 1–44 (Season 1)

After Sawyer crashed on the Island, his drifter instincts took over and he began looting and hoarding from the wreck. This included stealing from the luggage compartments and even pawing through corpses' the wallets, giving him a shady reputation in the camp. However, Sawyer soon became bored of keeping to himself and accompanied the group of survivors heading for higher ground to use the radio transmitter. On this trip, he began to know Kate. He also shot a polar bear, revealing that he had stolen a firearm from the U.S. Marshal after the crash. He later shot the dying marshal in the chest with this gun, but he missed the heart, hitting the lung instead. ("Pilot, Part 2") ("Tabula Rasa")

Sawyer revealed his stubborn and cocky attitude when Jack and the rest of the group accused him of hoarding a young woman's asthma inhaler. His refusal to explicitly tell them the truth led Jack and Sayid to torture him. Sawyer finally agreed to tell the truth, but only to Kate, from whom he demanded a kiss first. He then revealed that he never had the medicine in the first place - outraging everybody. When he attempted to escape captivity a few moments later, Sayid tackled him and severed an artery in his right arm with a knife. Jack's attempts to save him were rewarded by an ungrateful Sawyer informing him that if the tables were turned, he'd let the doctor die. Nevertheless, Jack succeeded in treating Sawyer's wound. ("Confidence Man")

Kate and Sawyer's relationship soon became more intense, after Kate found the letter Sawyer wrote as a boy to the man who conned his parents. In addition, while hunting a boar that ransacked Sawyer's tent, the pair played a notable game of "I never", in which Sawyer admitted a number of both significant and trivial points about his past. The following day, the two located the boar they had been hunting, but at the last moment Sawyer decided to spare the animal's life, as it reminded him of the man he killed in Sydney. Also on that day, the two heard whispers in the jungle, supporting Sayid's account of a similar experience, and suggesting that they may not be alone on the Island. ("Outlaws")

Sawyer furthermore showed an odd passion for reading literature on the Island, but soon after began experiencing headaches. Coming to his aid, Jack realized he was farsighted, and gave him a pair of glasses welded together to match his prescription. Though the two seemed to be helping each other, both Sawyer and Jack still had an ongoing rivalry, particularly around Kate, in whom both seemed to have an interest.

When Michael built his raft to find rescue, Sawyer bought his way on board using his essential stolen supplies. When Kate attempted to steal his spot, Sawyer exposed Kate as a fugitive to the entire group, causing animosity between them. Before leaving on the raft, Sawyer also told Jack that he had actually met Jack's father in Sydney before Christian died, which partially mended the rivalry between Sawyer and Jack. While on the raft, Sawyer witnessed the attack by the Others, and when he tried to stop them from taking Walt, was shot in the shoulder, knocking him overboard. As he scrambled in the water, the raft was destroyed by a Molotov. ("Exodus, Part 3")

Days 44–67 (Season 2)

While Jin seemingly vanished, Sawyer and Michael managed to grab onto the raft's wreckage. During their time adrift, Sawyer saved Michael with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation (but never tells him), and later pulled the bullet out of his own arm with his bare hands. Sawyer and Michael were slowly pulled back to the Island by the tides (and upon this realization, Sawyer quipped "Home sweet home"). Here, they found their missing friend, but discovered that he was being chased by a group of unknown individuals. Sawyer attempted to challenge these people, but ended up being hit round the head with a club by a man, later revealed as Mr. Eko. ("Adrift")

Sawyer, along with his other friends, was shoved into a pit. After being kept as prisoners for several days, they were released by Ana Lucia, and, eventually, it was revealed that they were accompanying fellow survivors of the flight, from the tail section. The group led the new arrivals to their current home in the Arrow station. As the group trekked across the Island back to the main camp, Sawyer's condition (caused by his infected bullet wound) worsened, and he collapsed, prompting the Islanders to build a stretcher on which they could carry him, over Ana-Lucia's protests that he would only slow them down. ("Orientation") ("Everybody Hates Hugo") ("...And Found"), ("Abandoned")

"There's a new sheriff in town boys. Best y'all get used to it." ("The Long Con")

During the confrontation with Sayid over Shannon Rutherford's murder, he was carried the remainder of the journey to the camp by Mr. Eko. He was treated by Jack with medicine from the hatch and Kate helped look after him as well.

When Michael ran off, Sawyer, Jack and Locke went after him, because Sawyer wanted payback for Walt. Locke revealed to Sawyer that he knew his real name. When Tom held Kate at gunpoint, Sawyer said that their feud was not done yet. Back at camp, Sawyer was angry at Jack, who stole some of his supplies. He warned Jack about taking his things, but when Jack ignored him, the con man hatched a plan to exact his vengeance. Sawyer enlisted Charlie's help in an elaborate scheme that included kidnapping Sun and blaming it on the Others. He also managed to deceive everyone in the group that Jack and Ana Lucia were preparing to hand out guns for an army. The deception allowed Sawyer a chance to steal all the guns and medicine housed in the Swan station armory, setting up a situation where everyone must come to him if medicine or guns were needed. He abused his bond with Kate by using her in his scheme which she did not like at all. She tells him it didn't have to do anything with guns, he just wants everyone to hate him. Eventually, Jack was able to win the medicines back by beating Sawyer in a game of poker. ("The 23rd Psalm") ("The Hunting Party") ("The Long Con")

Sawyer also willingly handed over a number of his guns to fellow survivors. For instance, he gave Kate a gun to take with her on her trip with Claire to find the medical station. ("Maternity Leave") In addition, Ana Lucia also managed to steal a gun from Sawyer, by having sex with him. This led to Michael using the gun to shoot both Ana Lucia and Libby, leading to Sawyer feeling remorse over their loss. When Jack wanted the guns by pointing a gun at him, he realized that Ana Lucia had stolen his gun. When they found the bodies, he gave up the location of the rest of his guns and stash to Jack, as Libby was in need of the heroin for pain relief. Jack told Sawyer he and Kate got caught in a net and Sawyer mistakenly thought it meant they had sex. ("Two for the Road") ("?")

Among the names on the list of people Michael was instructed to bring to the Others was Sawyer, and he was convinced to join Michael, Jack, Hurley, and Kate on their mission to find Walt. He later killed an Other who was spying on the group from across a river. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1")

Days 68–91 (Season 3)

A day later, Sawyer awoke in a cage at the Hydra station with his arm bandaged. He had to work out a way to find food, which he eventually did, much to his pleasure. However, his happiness was somewhat dampened by the fact that all he got was a fish biscuit and kibble, and by the fact that Tom later quipped, "It only took the bears two hours." He selflessly handed over his hard-won fish biscuit to a hungry Kate when she was brought to the cage opposite his. ("A Tale of Two Cities")

Sawyer and Kate were made to work in harsh conditions in a rock quarry, and during this time, Sawyer rebelled against his captors. Back at the cages, he admits his real name to Kate. While Sawyer maintained that this was done to test the Others as a group, a connection between himself and Kate was clearly visible. As the two discussed their options and escape plans, they did not realize that they were in fact being monitored remotely by Ben and the Others. ("The Glass Ballerina")

Sawyer planned a second escape by using the electric shock from the behavioral conditioning device in his cage to shock the next person that came for him. Ben was the one to come, but Sawyer's plan was unsuccessful, because they turned off the electricity. It is likely that this is because his plan was heard over the monitors. He was beaten by Ben and taken into the station where the Others injected an unknown substance into his heart. When he woke up, he was informed by Ben that he had been outfitted with a pacemaker that would cause his heart to explode if his heart rate went too high. He was also told that if he told Kate what happened, they would do the same thing to her.

Sawyer's drastic change in behavior caused Kate to worry. He concealed his secret from her, not wanting her to suffer the same fate. Later, Pickett came into his cage, and beat him severely, as punishment for Colleen's death. He demanded to know if Kate loved Sawyer, and continued to bloody his face until she finally broke down and exclaimed that she did. Kate then learned that she could escape her cage, so Sawyer told her to run and save herself if she really loved him. However, she said that she only claimed to love him so Pickett would stop hitting him, and climbed back in her cage.

Later, Ben and some Others took Sawyer on a hike in order to show him something. On the way, Ben revealed that nothing has been done to Sawyer's heart, and that it was a ruse to trick him. Ben said that the only way to gain the respect of a con man is to con him, and claimed to be much better at conning than Sawyer. At the top of the mountain, Ben showed Sawyer that they were on an island separate from the Island on which their plane crashed, proving to Sawyer that running was useless, as there was nowhere to go. ("Every Man for Himself")

From this point on, Sawyer seemed to lose his fighting spirit. Kate awoke to find him listlessly throwing rocks at the food button in his cage. Pickett then came, and told Kate that she had to go and work, and that Sawyer had a day off. However, she insisted that they worked as a team, so, Pickett got Sawyer to accompany her back to the quarry. Unbeknownst to Sawyer, Pickett would kill him if Kate was unable to convince Jack to perform surgery on Ben. After Kate couldn't convince Jack, she became desperate and broke the lock on Sawyer's cage, urging him to run. However, he didn't leave, explaining to Kate about them being on a second Island, and that he didn't tell her because he wanted her to keep believing they had a chance, so she wouldn't give up. Because of this, she immediately kissed him and they gave in to their passions, making love inside his cage.

Afterward, Sawyer asked Kate if she only said she loved him to stop Pickett's beating. She responded by kissing him lightly, he smiles and says, "I love you, too." The morning after,they awaken to find Pickett and an accomplice have arrived with guns, to kill Sawyer.

At first, Sawyer fought Pickett, but backed off when he saw the accomplice hold one of Kate's arms behind her back, pushing her up against the bars and holding a gun to her head. Even though she urged him to fight, he stepped out of the cage with Pickett and was forced to his knees. Pickett aimed the gun at Sawyer's head and says, "This is for Colleen," before Tom called on the walkie-talkie and interrupted him. Sawyer was left kneeling in the mud, his fate in the balance. ("I Do")

Sawyer eventually assaulted Pickett, taking away his gun and beating him, while Kate took out his backup. They locked both of them in the bear cage, though Sawyer butted Pickett's head against the food button three times, triggering the shock effect which left Pickett in pain. He and Kate ran, but only to the beach, seeing their main island two miles away by sea. They were chased down and Sawyer fired several shots at the Others, but ran out of rounds. He and Kate were rescued by Alex, who used her slingshot to wound Jason and lead them to a hiding-hole.

Alex agreed to give him and Kate a boat if they would help her rescue Karl, her boyfriend. Kate suggested, and Sawyer implements the "Wookiee Prisoner gag", took out Aldo, and rescued Karl. While preparing to leave the Hydra Island by boat, Pickett appeared and was ready to shoot Sawyer, but Juliet fired first, killing Pickett. She allowed Sawyer, Kate and Karl to escape, and they paddled back to their own island. ("Not in Portland").

Once they reached there, they camped out when Sawyer won an argument as to whether they should look immediately for the castaways' camp. They woke up the next morning to find Karl missing, and then heard him crying. Sawyer talked to him, encouraging him to go back for Alex. When Karl decided to leave, Sawyer let him, prompting another disagreement with Kate. He and Kate also argued about him ordering her around, about leaving Jack behind and whether she felt guilty for having sex with him. Sawyer said he knew she only did it because she thought Sawyer was going to die. ("Stranger in a Strange Land")

On their way back to the camp, Sawyer stepped on a dart, debris from the discharge. Kate tried to get him to apologize so they could give each other a clean slate, but Sawyer said he has nothing to be sorry for and walks away. Kate's reaction "Welcome home, Sawyer." implied that his old self had returned, in a negative way. After their reunion with the other survivors, Sawyer's mood was not improved by finding out that all his stuff has been taken and divided among the castaways. The loss of the MacCutcheon scotch was particularly irksome. He went after Hurley, who helped drink it. Hurley, who seemed very happy to see Sawyer alive, hugged him, and bribed him with DHARMA beer to help him flip the DHARMA van. ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead")

After getting drunk with Jin, and teaching him some English, Sawyer helped Hurley with re-activating the van by pushing it, with Hurley and Charlie inside, down a hill which ended with a large black rocks. Although Sawyer believed it was their "funeral", he did so, and was shocked to see that the car worked. After a short ride in the van, Sawyer came back to camp, with his DHARMA beers, and looked for Kate, but could not find her because she left to go rescue Jack without telling him. ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead")

Sawyer tried to win back his stash in a ping pong game against Hurley, but was defeated and had to give up using nicknames for a week. Hurley gave him his Playboy magazines back, reassuring him about Kate, whom he felt was safe with Sayid and Locke. ("Enter 77")

He and Hurley were playing ping-pong when Nikki staggered out of the jungle, and collapsed in front of them. After Hurley deduced that her last words were, "Paulo lies", they went looking for Paulo, only to find him apparently dead, as well. Together, with Charlie, Jin and Sun, they tried to figure out what happened to them, during the course of which it's revealed that Nikki asked Sawyer for a gun but he refused to give her one. Under the cover of doing a "perimeter search", Sawyer finds the diamonds that he then gives to Sun. She threw them back at Sawyer when she found out that he and Charlie were the ones who assaulted and kidnapped her. Later, Sawyer sprinkled them into Nikki and Paulo's grave and helped Hurley bury them, not noticing that Nikki, who'd only been paralyzed, had woken up. ("Exposé")

After burying Nikki and Paulo, Sawyer defiantly called Hurley "rotund," upholding the letter of his week-long 'punishment', if not the spirit of it. Hurley advised Sawyer to try to get in the other survivors' good graces, as they were planning a vote of banishment. He suggested Sawyer do good deeds, such as giving Claire a blanket, catching and cleaning a fish, hunting boar with Desmond, then cooking it as a feast for the other survivors. However, when Sawyer 'casually' asks Charlie about the vote, Charlie had no idea what he was talking about, and Sawyer realized he had been duped. Sawyer confronted Hurley about the con, and Hurley pointed out that, with Jack, Sayid, Kate and Locke away from camp, the other survivors were looking at Sawyer to fill the leadership role on the Island in the wake of Nikki and Paulo's deaths. He asked Sawyer if it felt good to be nice, which he didn't respond to. ("Left Behind")

When Sawyer goes to the food tent for breakfast, he noticed that Jack, Kate and Sayid had returned. After his emotional reunion with Kate, Sawyer became very angry when he realized that Jack had brought Juliet back with the group. When he and Sayid tracked her to where she picked up the medicine for Claire, Juliet confronted Sawyer with her knowledge of him killing a man in cold blood the night before his flight. That was enough to get him to back off. ("One of Us")

Sawyer went to Kate's tent to talk to her. He entered her tent and he saw her dressing. He asked her if she told Jack about them, she responds Jack already knew. He playfully asked her about sex, and she, with irritation, rebuffed his advance, prompting him to ask her if he needed to get her a mix tape. Later, a distraught Kate after trying to flirt with Jack and being rebuffed by him, entered Sawyer's tent and started kissing him. When he noticed she was crying he asked her what was wrong, but she only wanted him to be quiet and continued kissing and undressing him, and they had sex for the second time. Later, while having a ping-pong match with Jack, he discovers why Kate jumped him, that she was jealous and hurt by Jack sharing dinner with Juliet. The next day, Sawyer approached her to give a Phil Collins tape, commenting that if Bernard asked about it, he knew nothing. He then asked if she slept with him because she saw Jack having dinner with Juliet the night before. She denies it, but he sees right through her facade and gently rebukes her, saying that she doesn't need to use him, she has only to ask, leaving her looking guilty. ("Catch-22")

While off in the jungle by himself, Sawyer was approached by Locke, who told Sawyer that he had kidnapped Ben and wanted Sawyer to kill him. Sawyer didn't trust Locke, but followed him anyways. When asked why he would not kill Ben himself, Locke responded that he was not a murderer. He then reminded Sawyer about the man he killed in Australia (which Locke learned about from the Others' file on him given by Richard).

The two arrived at the Black Rock, and headed for the ship's brig, where Locke said Ben was being held. As soon as Sawyer stepped into the room, Locke shut the door and locked him in with a hooded figure. The figure turned out not to be Ben, but Anthony Cooper. Through talking to him, Sawyer learned that Anthony was a con man. Sawyer asked him what names he had used, and one of them turned out to be "Tom Sawyer". Sawyer realized that Anthony was the man who was responsible for his parent's death, the man he had been looking for his whole life, the real Sawyer. Sawyer pulled out the letter he wrote as a child to "Mr. Sawyer" and ordered Anthony to read it. Anthony started to read, but stopped and explained to Sawyer his theory that they were not on an island but, in fact, in hell. Sawyer told Anthony to keep reading, but he tore up the letter up instead. Sawyer then angrily strangled him to death with the chains he was being restrained by.
Locke thanked Sawyer for killing the man who ruined both of their lives, saying that, "he had it coming." He then told Sawyer to return to camp, and gave him the cassette player Juliet left for Ben to prove that she was a mole in their camp. ("The Brig")

Sawyer returned to the beach camp with the tape and confided in Sayid. Later that night, Sawyer was present when Sayid made his speech regarding Naomi, Oceanic Flight 815, and his distrust of Jack and Juliet. Sawyer played the tape for the everyone to hear. When Jack and Juliet returned, Sawyer was obviously angry at both of them, but in the end, he listened to Juliet, turned to the tape over, and listened to Ben's plans on invading the beach. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")

After hearing about Jack's plans to use dynamite against the Others, Sawyer joined the main group in the trek to the radio tower. On the way, he brushed off Kate when she said she wanted to go back to help the people at the beach. She mentioned that he had been acting distant ever since he got back from his mission with Locke and that Juliet's tape said that she might be pregnant too. Sawyer said he hopes she's not. Sawyer soon decided he needed to help those at the beach, who could be in real peril. Though Kate wished to help their friends, he refused to allow it, and went with Juliet instead, leaving a Kate behind. ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1")

The two made it to the camp, after also refusing Hurley's offer to help. As they wondered how best to proceed, Hurley drove the DHARMA van into the fray. Together, they eliminated the remaining Others and saved everyone in the process. The last enemy survivor was Tom, who surrendered grudgingly; however, Sawyer shot him in the chest, much to everyone's surprise - especially Tom's. Before he died, Sawyer told Tom, "That's for taking the kid off the raft." When Hurley commented that Tom had surrendered, Sawyer quietly replied, "I didn't believe him." ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 2")

Days 91–100 (Season 4)

Sawyer was still celebrating at the beach. While he drank a beer, he watched Juliet dig Tom's grave and listened as Hurley told everyone of Jack's call. Desmond then returned to inform them of Charlie's death and his final warning about the boat. Sawyer said they must radio Jack to warn him, but Sayid told Sawyer not to because the "rescuers" may be deceiving them; Sayid believed that if their intentions were indeed bad, they were likely monitoring communications on the Island. Hurley settled the debate by grabbing the radio and throwing it into the ocean. Instead, Sawyer, Hurley, Juliet, Jin, Bernard, Sayid, and Desmond grabbed some guns and set out to meet up with Jack and the others in the jungle.

Sawyer tried to comfort Hurley over Charlie's death, but Hurley did not want to talk about it. Journeying on to the cockpit, Sawyer eventually joined Locke's side. When Kate questioned him on his actions, he told her that he was doing what he had always been doing: surviving. Kate chose to stay with Jack. Along with Locke and those who sided with him, Sawyer walked off into the jungle, headed for the Barracks. ("The Beginning of the End")

The next day, as Locke's group was trekking across the Island, Sawyer noted that the group was not going in the right direction to get to the Barracks. Locke replied that they had to take a detour to a cabin, to which Hurley replied that the cabin was in a different direction. Sawyer began to question why Locke believed the freighter people were bad, and expressed doubt once Locke explained that it was Walt (or a vision of Walt) who instructed him to kill Naomi and attempt to stop the people on the boat from coming to the Island. To prove his story, Locke lifted his shirt to show the gunshot wound inflicted by Ben.

Later, he intervened when Karl was about to attack Ben, saying that Ben was only trying to get inside his head, only to end up attacking Ben himself when he antagonized Sawyer about Kate and her feelings for Jack. Sawyer told Locke that they should kill Ben, saying that he was sure to find a way to cause trouble, but Locke says they needed him.

The group later found Charlotte Lewis and exhibited hostility and disbelief toward her as she told her story. Ben stole a gun and shot Charlotte, prompting Sawyer to beat him. Locke told Sawyer that he was right about Ben, then Sawyer offered to kill him, but Locke said that he would do it himself. Sawyer then witnessed Ben reveal that he already knew about Charlotte and her team. ("Confirmed Dead")

Shortly afterward, Sawyer and the rest of Locke's group captured Sayid, Miles, and Kate at Ben's house in the barracks. Sawyer watched over Kate as Locke and Sayid negotiated. Sawyer revealed that he did not want to leave the Island because he had nothing to go back to. He questioned Kate's motives for leaving by reminding her that she had nothing to look forward to except jail if she left the Island. Sawyer told Kate that he would be content to stay and live on Island. Kate asked him how long they could "play house." Sawyer said they should find out. ("The Economist")

Kate stayed with Claire at the Barracks and was visited by Sawyer. Kate tells him that she does not trust him. They argued about the pregnancy and she refused his offer to go live with him and told him to go home. She later visited him, asking if he could help her break Ben out. He then reported this to Locke, distracting him for Kate; however, Locke caught Kate, banishing her from the Barracks. That night, she came to Sawyer's room and he "unbanished" her and vowed to protect her. They kissed, but apparently did not have sex based on Sawyer's comments the following morning. The following morning they got into a fight over the potential pregnancy. Kate assured Sawyer that she was not pregnant, but when Sawyer declared that not having a baby would be a relief, she asked if it really would've been "worst thing in the world" and he enthusiastically said yes. He said she didn't want a baby either but was just looking for an excuse to split. She got upset when he said she'll be back when she gets pissed at Jack again, she hit him in the face and left. ("Eggtown")

While playing a game of horseshoes with Hurley, Sawyer saw Ben walking freely into his home. Amid their confusion about his freedom, Ben cheerfully said to them, "See you guys at dinner!" ("The Other Woman")

Later, Sawyer attended a group meeting at Locke's house, where he learned that the freighter's crew planned to kill everyone on the Island after they captured Ben. Afterward, Sawyer confronted Locke about the $3.2 million that Miles wanted from Ben. Locke replied that he didn't think this matter was worth mentioning at the meeting. ("Meet Kevin Johnson")

Sawyer was playing a game of Risk against Hurley when the phone rang, heralding the imminent arrival of Keamy and his team. Sawyer attempted to get all the other residents of the Barracks inside their houses, but Keamy's group shot three survivors dead and attempted to gun down Sawyer. Sawyer took cover and made his way to Claire's house, which one of the mercenaries blew up with a rocket-propelled grenade. The attackers then ceased fire, allowing Sawyer to enter the debris of Claire's house. Finding Claire still alive, he carried her back to the house in which Ben, Locke, and Hurley were taking shelter. Ben tried to prevent Sawyer from entering the house, but Sawyer and Claire made it safely inside through a window.

That night, Sawyer was present when the Monster attacked Keamy's team. While the mercenaries were distracted by the Monster, Sawyer, Ben, Locke, Hurley, Claire, and Miles fled from the Barracks. Sawyer, fed up with Ben and Locke's mysterious plan to consult Jacob, declared his intention to return to Jack's group at the beach camp, and offered to take Claire and Aaron with him. Claire agreed and Miles also decided to go with them. However, when Sawyer invited Hurley to go with them, Ben and Locke demanded that Hurley come with them to Jacob's cabin. Sawyer aims his gun at Locke in defense of his friend, while Locke aimed his gun at Sawyer. Ultimately, Hurley convinced Sawyer to let him leave with Ben and Locke, to which Sawyer complied, telling Locke that if he hurts one hair on Hurley's head, Sawyer would kill him. Sawyer, Claire, and Miles set off toward the beach. ("The Shape of Things to Come")

Sawyer continued to behave protectively toward Claire and Aaron, imposing a "restraining order" on Miles as they headed for the beach. He was quick to get her out of the area upon the discovery of Rousseau's and Karl's bodies, and told her to get behind him when they heard someone (Frank) approaching through the bushes. He told them Sawyer, Claire, Aaron and Miles to hide in the bushes as Keamy and his team were coming. They hid, but Aaron let out a cry and Keamy almost investigated, but Frank convinced him not to. The next morning, Sawyer realized that Claire was gone. Sawyer's "restraining order" had backfired, as Miles had apparently let her wander off into the jungle in the dead of night with what appeared to be her father, Christian Shephard. Equally furious and worried, Sawyer left Miles to find Aaron when he began to hear the baby crying. Upon finding him alone on his blanket at the base of a tree, Sawyer picked up the child and began yelling for the still missing Claire. ("Something Nice Back Home")

Sawyer, Miles, and Aaron were making their way back to the beach when they ran into Kate and Jack, who were tracking the helicopter. After a brief argument, Kate took Aaron, and she and Miles returned to the beach, while Jack and Sawyer continued on towards the chopper. They arrived at the chopper and found Frank alone, hand-cuffed to a seat. Frank warned them about where Keamy and his team were going and the danger of the Orchid. Frank promised to fly them off the Island right away, until Sawyer realized Hurley was in danger at the Orchid. Jack and Sawyer trekked off into the jungle, in search of the Orchid, to save Hurley's life. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 1")

They soon found Hurley and Locke at the Orchid. After Jack chose to ignore Locke's pleas for them to stay, they left with Hurley. Sawyer left the Island in the helicopter with Lapidus, Kate, Jack, Sayid, Aaron, and Hurley. It soon became apparent that there was a leak in the copter's fuel tank, and that they had to lose weight. Throwing several loose items off didn't have enough of an effect, so Sawyer took a moment to size up the situation. After whispering something in her ear, he kissed Kate passionately goodbye. While Kate and the others looked on with surprise, he jumped out of the helicopter into the sea, heroically sacrificing his escape to save the rest. Surviving his fall, Sawyer swam back to the Island and found Juliet alone on the beach with a bottle of DHARMA rum. While he was initially in good spirits, he was dismayed when Juliet points out the wreckage of the freighter. At that point the Island moved, taking Sawyer with it. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 3")

Season 5

Time flashes

Though confused by the intense white light, Sawyer was quick to notice that the smoke from the freighter had completely disappeared in an instant. Juliet speculated that the helicopter may have been on the boat when it exploded. Sawyer attempted to calm Rose and Bernard as they panicked but they informed him that the camp had disappeared. Sawyer acted increasingly irritable as the group headed towards the hatch. He first asked Daniel to give him his shirt, and then slapped him and demanded some sort of explanation about the flashes of light. When they arrived at the Swan station he suggested to Daniel that they could warn them about not getting on the helicopter, but Daniel replied it would be futile to attempt to change the past.

After jumping back in time again, Sawyer, against Daniel's attempts to persuade him that it was impossible, headed to the Swan's back door to get supplies: "Food, beer and clothing". He attempted to get through the door, shouting "It's the ghost of Christmas future!" and angrily slamming on the door. He eventually gave up, telling Daniel "Everybody I care about just blew up on your damn boat". He then stormed off back to the beach. ("Because You Left")

Sawyer took Frogurt's red shirt, and questioned Daniel about how they were going to get off the Island. Later that evening Sawyer became increasingly impatient with Frogurt's pessimistic attitude and just as tensions peaked Frogurt was killed by a flaming arrow, fired by a group from within the jungle. As the group of survivors fled, Sawyer was almost hit by one of the many arrows. He went back for Juliet who had stopped to help someone hit, and the two of them disappeared into the jungle to escape.

Moving towards the creek to meet up with the rest of the group, Sawyer stepped on a piece of bamboo, skewering his foot. Soon after he and Juliet saw a group walking through the jungle with guns. They tried to stay out of sight but were spotted and held at gunpoint. The group demanded to know who they were, and moved to cut off Juliet's arm even when Sawyer agreed to tell them what they wanted to know. Just before it happened they were rescued by Locke and they overpowered their captors. ("The Lie")

The next morning, the three attempted to gain information out of the two surviving men. After Juliet was able to determine that they were Others, one of the men, known as Cunningham, was willing to lead them to their camp. Suddenly, "Jones" quickly snapped Cunningham's neck and escaped. As he ran away, Locke had a clear shot at "Jones'", but refused to shoot. This lead Sawyer to take his gun and aim for Jones, but his shot missed. Sawyer followed Juliet and Locke as they tracked Jones to the Others' camp.

Locke and Sawyer argued about their next course of action, and Juliet stuck with Sawyer. They went to rescue Faraday from Ellie who was holding him at gunpoint. They managed to surround Ellie and force her to drop her gun, however soon after there was a time shift, and as the time changed, Ellie and the Others' camp vanished. Sawyer and his group were left standing on an empty plain where the camp had been moments before. ("Jughead")

After the flash, Locke tells Sawyer that the only way to stop the flashes is to bring the Oceanic Six back to the Island. Sawyer questions the validity of Locke's knowledge that the Oceanic 6 are still alive but after Locke mentions bringing Kate back he decides to head to the Orchid. On the way to the Orchid he hears screams and witness the birth of Aaron. He finds himself unable, however, to say anything to the past version of Kate; later he explains that it was because he believed "What's done is done." They head for their camp in order to use the Zodiac to get to the Orchid to save time, to find the Zodiac boat is gone and the camp has been ransacked and abandoned. They also find two outrigger canoes and Sawyer discovers an Ajira Airways water bottle in one of them. They decide to take one of the outriggers before whoever owns them returns. Out in the water Juliet notices Sawyer is distracted and asks if he is okay, to which he tells her how he saw Kate in the jungle. They are interrupted though when whoever owns the outriggers give chase in the other one and begin shooting at them. There is another time shift and the other boat disappears, and the group is caught out in the rain during nightfall. They quickly paddle to shore when Juliet asks Sawyer why he didn't approach Kate in the jungle. At this point that Sawyer pointed out that Juliet's nose was starting to bleed; they both become distracted by Charlotte who had just found some scattered items and what seemed like the recent wreckage of a ship. ("The Little Prince")

On their continued journey to reach the Orchid, Sawyer and his group stumbled upon Jin (who they thought was dead) just moments after another flash through time. They convinced him to come with them but now the time shifts were becoming much more frequent. Charlotte then collapsed and Sawyer went ahead with Locke, Miles, Juliet and Jin while Daniel stayed behind with Charlotte. They managed to reach the Orchid but it disappeared in a time flash. Locke then found and began to descend down a well that Charlotte told them they should look for. There was another time shift and Sawyer tried to pull Locke up but it was too late. The well disappeared while Locke was down in it, cutting off Locke's contact with the others. Sawyer desperately tried to dig to get to Locke but Juliet told him they couldn't help him now. ("This Place Is Death") Sawyer, Jin, Miles, and Juliet discovered that they were way in the past, around or prior to 1867, when Miles pointed out a huge statue in the distance. They viewed the statue briefly, before Locke fixed the frozen wheel and sent them to 1974. ("LaFleur")

1974–1977 (with DHARMA)

When the well reappeared, Sawyer attempted to help Locke, but when he jumped in, he found it either hadn't been dug yet or had been filled in. They headed back to find Daniel and Charlotte where they saw that Charlotte had disappeared after her death. Sawyer suggested going back to the beach, and Miles scoffed, but Juliet backed him up.

On the way, the group heard gunshots, and saw two Others taking a woman hostage. Sawyer confronted them and asked them to lower their weapons at the point of his own gun, but when one of them attempted to shoot him, Juliet shot him and Sawyer took out the remaining Other. They released Amy who cried out for her dead husband, Paul. She insisted that they bury the bodies of the Others, and take Paul back with her. Sawyer came up with a lie and told her that his group was shipwrecked, but they decided to help. When they got to the sonic fence, Juliet demanded that Amy render it safe. She appeared to do so, but actually just put in earplugs. When Sawyer and his crew crossed the fence, they were rendered unconscious.

When Sawyer woke up, he was confronted by Horace Goodspeed, who asked for his story. He said his name was James "Jim" LaFleur, and told him he was the captain of a salvage vessel looking for the Black Rock. Horace told him he'd be put on the next submarine out, but Sawyer asked for time to find the rest of his crew. When Richard Alpert invaded the DHARMA Initiative camp, Horace went to talk, and when he returned, he asked how well Sawyer buried the bodies. Sawyer then went for a private talk with Richard, and told him the truth about their situation telling him that they were a third party in the incident. Richard didn't initially believe that Sawyer was not DHARMA, but Sawyer asked if they buried Jughead and recounted Locke's trip in 1954. With the specific name of John Locke, Richard then believed Sawyer was not DHARMA, and they hadn't violated the truce. However, Richard still needed justice and they agreed to send the body of Paul back to keep the peace. In return for dealing with Richard, Horace gave Sawyer two weeks to find the rest of his crew.

At the dock by the submarine, Juliet told Sawyer that Locke had already saved them, noting that the flashes had stopped and they were no longer sick, so there was no need to wait for him. She explained that she had been trying to get off the Island for over three years, and that she intended to be on the submarine in the morning despite Sawyer convincing Horace otherwise. Sawyer, however, talked her into staying for just two more weeks until the next submarine trip. Two weeks inexplicably turned into three years, during which time Sawyer became head of security (under his "Jim LaFleur" alias) and entered a relationship with Juliet, Amy and Horace get married, Jin became fluent in English and he and Miles are part of DHARMA security. As head of security, Sawyer commanded considerable respect and fear, as his staff debated about waking him up to take care of Horace, who, drunk, started tossing dynamite around near the Flame. Sawyer and Miles found him passed out, and Sawyer took him back to Amy, who admitted they had an argument before he started drinking, then went into labor. When the DHARMA doctor admitted he had never performed a caesarian (which Amy required), Sawyer recruited Juliet, now a motor pool tech. She succeeds in saving both Amy and her child.

Later that day, as he walked outside, Sawyer stopped to pick a large yellow flower. Smelling it and smiling, he went home and gave it to Juliet, who was in the kitchen making dinner. He kissed her and told her that he loved her and congratulated her on her first successful delivery on the Island.

The next morning, he and Juliet were asleep in bed when they were awakened by a telephone call from Jin, who had important news. He didn't share it with Juliet, but went out in a jeep to meet Jin in the North Valley. The van arrived, and Hurley, Jack, and finally, Kate, emerged from the van. Sawyer's expression mingled surprise and relief that his friends had returned.

LaFleur meets up with his fellow castaways after three years. ("LaFleur")

Sawyer had to conceal the fact that his friends had arrived on the Island. He filled Juliet in and she informed him that the submarine was bringing new people to the Island that day so he decided to have them pose as new DHARMA Initiative recruits. Sawyer gave them instructions, provided new clothing, and assured the three that they would not be detected. Then Jin called him on the radio with a code 14-J, signaling a hostile intrusion. Jin then quietly told him that the "hostile" was actually Sayid. Sawyer arrived at the Flame, to see that Radzinsky had already locked Sayid in a room and suggested that they shoot him. Instead, Sawyer questioned Sayid, carefully prompting him to identify himself as a Hostile. Sayid played along, and Sawyer pointed out that the terms of "the truce" prevented them from simply executing the "hostile." Sawyer then moved Sayid to another holding cell and ordered that food be brought to him, stating "We're not savages."

Later that night, Jack went to Sawyer's house, where Juliet answered the door. Jack quickly realized that Sawyer and Juliet were in a relationship when he was invited in. Sawyer, sitting on the couch and reading a book, asked Jack if he'd like to take a load off and drink a beer. Jack declined, then asked Sawyer why he is not working on how to deal with Sayid and how to get them off the Island but Sawyer insisted that he was. When Jack criticized him for just sitting there reading a book, Sawyer quoted Winston Churchill, who said that reading a book every night helped him to think. He stated that it was better to think clearly than act rashly as Jack had done in the past, noting that several people had died under his leadership. Jack defended himself, stating that he had successfully gotten everyone off the Island to which Sawyer replied, "But here you are. Right back where you started." Sawyer sternly informed Jack that he was in charge, and he would continue to do things his way, then ushered Jack out of the house. As he watched Jack walk away, he saw an unhappy Kate at the next house over. Clearly torn between wanting to talk to her and his loyalty to Juliet, he gave her a small wave and a half-hearted smile. ("Namaste")

The next day, Sawyer attempted to reason with Sayid, offering him a chance to join DHARMA as a defector from the hostiles. Sayid refused and was brought to Oldham by Sawyer, Horace, and Radzinsky. While Sayid did tell the truth under the influence of drugs, his story was not believed. In a meeting to decide what to do with him, Sawyer tried to convince the DHARMA council to spare his life, but is outvoted and reluctantly made it unanimous. Sawyer then returned to Sayid and suggested that Sayid strike him and run away, but Sayid again refused any subterfuge. Sawyer then visited Kate and asked her why she returned, but before she could answer the flaming van crossed the barracks campus and chaos ensued. ("He's Our You")

After the fire was put out and Sayid escaped, Sawyer was examining the security monitors and Kate approached him to ask what happened to Ben. Horace arrived and was suspicious of them talking. With the discovery of a janitor's keys found in the holding cell, which made Jack a suspect, Sawyer saw that things were spiraling out of control. He ordered Miles to keep Jack, Kate and Hurley under house arrest in order not to complicate matters.

Sawyer then approached Roger to ask for his keys and Roger said he must've left them at home. Later, Sawyer tried to recruit help with little Ben's surgery from Jack, who flat out refused. After Juliet sent Kate with Ben to take him to the Others for help, Sawyer went after and caught up with her. But he was there to help, not hinder, saying that he was only doing this for Juliet. Sawyer deactivated the pylons, and they carried Ben into the Others' territory. Along the way she told him about his daughter Clementine, and they discussed their relationship, with Sawyer saying he and Kate would not have lasted at the time, but that he's grown up in the past three years. A group of Others surrounded them, but Sawyer quickly took charge, demanding to be taken to Richard Alpert. The Others escorted them into the jungle, with Sawyer cracking a joke to help alleviate the tension, when Richard arrived. When Richard asked Kate who she was, Sawyer intervened, asserting that she was with him. Richard asked if the boy was Benjamin Linus and Sawyer asked if the two had met, to which Richard did not respond. After Richard explained what would happen to Ben, and with Kate's consent, Sawyer gave Ben to Richard to be taken to the Temple. ("Whatever Happened, Happened")

Later Sawyer called Miles and asked him to "accidentally" erase the tapes from the sonic fence surveillance. When Kate expressed concern that he could get in trouble, Sawyer smugly told her that he's "head of security", and that he could handle it. After spending the day tracking Sayid, he arrived at his home, and was surprised to find Jack there. He informed Sawyer of Roger's suspicions. Sawyer followed Jack outside as he left, only to be confronted by Phil. He had the tape that Miles failed to erase, and demanded an explanation. Sawyer invited him inside in order to "explain", then proceeded to punch him, knocking him out. He then told Juliet to get some rope. ("Some Like It Hoth")

The next morning, Jack went to Sawyer's house to tell him Daniel had returned and had headed to the Orchid. Sawyer responded that he was too busy to help, but Juliet ordered him to explain their predicament - namely Phil, who was still tied up in the closet. Later, Sawyer met Jack, Kate, Jin, Juliet and Hurley at his house to discuss their options. He suggested that they either leave the Island by submarine before they are caught, or head into the jungle to "start from square one." They were interrupted when Miles and Daniel arrived, asking where he could find the Hostiles. Sawyer rejected Daniel's plan, and became angry when Jack suggested that Kate could take them to the Hostiles. Juliet became annoyed when he called her "Freckles", however, and gave Kate the fence code in order to send her away. Sawyer argued that Jack was making a mistake and that he, Jin, Hurley, and Juliet would meet them at the beach when their plan inevitably fails.

Later, Sawyer and Juliet were packing to leave for the beach when they were interrupted by the alarm. Radzinsky and his assistants burst into Sawyer's house and informed Sawyer of the situation, but quickly discovered the bound and gagged Phil. Sawyer and Juliet were forced to surrender at gunpoint. ("The Variable")

Sawyer and Juliet were taken to the security office where they were brutally interrogated by Radzinsky. He shoved Sawyer's face into the monitor showing him and Kate at the pylons, demanding to know where his "girlfriend" was, to which Sawyer stubbornly refused. Juliet protested, stating that they were good people. Sawyer ordered her not to talk, whatever she said, they wouldn't believe her. Phil then took the interrogation to a more vicious level by slapping Juliet, which infuriated Sawyer. But he still refused to talk. Chang then arrived, angrily protesting the situation. He then told Horace, Radzinsky and the others to stop the drilling at the Swan, and ordered the evacuation of the woman and children from the Island. Sawyer then proposed a deal to Radzinsky: if he and Juliet could leave the Island on the submarine, he would tell Radzinsky everything he wanted to know. He did not include his friends in the deal, curiously enough, only himself and Juliet.

On the dock, Sawyer sarcastically quipped that he'd buy Microsoft and bet on the Cowboys in the 1978 Superbowl. He apologized to Juliet and said that she was right three years ago, that he should have let her get on the submarine and leave. Juliet told Sawyer she was glad that she stayed behind. Once on the submarine, Juliet and Sawyer were handcuffed to a table in the ship's gallery. Juliet asked Sawyer what they would do when they get to Ann Arbor. Sawyer replied that they aren't going to Ann Arbor, and that they'd be free in the "real world". Juliet chuckled saying she didn't even know what that meant anymore. They held hands and said that they loved each other. They were about to leave, when Phil brought Kate aboard the submarine, where she was cuffed with Sawyer and Juliet. They gave each other awkward looks as the submarine departed from the Island. ("Follow the Leader")

Kate tried to persuade Sawyer and Juliet to come back and stop Jack from detonating Jughead, but Sawyer stubbornly refused, saying he made a decision to leave and was sticking to it. Juliet then knocked out the DHARMA worker bringing around sedatives and told Sawyer that "we decided to leave", and that they couldn't let those people on the Island die. Sawyer sulkily agreed to go along. They held the submarine captain at gunpoint and told him to surface the sub, and said that after they left, they were not under any circumstances to return to the Island. They rowed back to the Island using a raft from the sub. Upon getting back to the Island they spotted Vincent coming out of the jungle, followed by Rose and Bernard (now sporting a beard), who claimed they had known about them all joining DHARMA but they were retired and this was the life they wanted to live. Upon being told about the bomb, Bernard said it didn't matter, all that mattered to them was that they were together. Sawyer then cast an affectionate look towards an oblivious Kate, which did not go unnoticed by Juliet. Rose then pointed them in the right direction to the Barracks. ("The Incident, Part 1")

Sawyer, Kate and Juliet intercepted the DHARMA van as it headed towards the Swan station. Sawyer asked to speak to Jack, who agreed to five minutes. Out in the jungle, Sawyer told Jack about his parents' murder-suicide, and his witness to the tragedy. Knowing when it happened, he could have gotten on the sub and stopped his dad from killing anyone, but he didn't, because "what's done is done". Jack told him it didn't have to be that way and it was his destiny to change all of their fates. Sawyer said he didn't believe in destiny, and he asked Jack what he wanted out of all of this. Jack told Sawyer that he had Kate and he lost her. Sawyer in exasperation tried to tell him if he wanted Kate back, all he had to do was talk to her. When Jack said it was "too late", Sawyer reminded him that if his "reset" plan worked, he and Kate would be strangers, and she'd be on her way to prison. When even this failed to sway Jack, Sawyer decided he had had enough and punched him in the face. After a fierce brawl, Sawyer pinned Jack and demanded to know if he would stop his mission. Jack refused and Sawyer continued to beat him until Juliet intervened, shouting at Sawyer to stop. As Sawyer attempted to explain himself, Juliet told him that Jack was right, and that she was going to help him. Sawyer demanded to know where all this was coming from, as she was the one who told him to come back to stop Jack. Juliet told him it was because she saw him look at Kate. She said she loved him but she knew they weren't meant to be together. She said that if Jack changed everything, she would have never met him, but it would save her the pain of having to lose him. She walks away, leaving Sawyer stunned. Later as they walked back to the van, they passed Jack, who looked at Sawyer and said simply, "See you in Los Angeles".

Out by the van, Miles began to question whether or not what Jack was doing would cause the Incident, rather then prevent it. When Kate and Jin spotted Phil and the security team headed towards the Swan, Sawyer questioned Juliet whether they should help. She replies "live together, die alone", and they head off. The van pulled up in time to help Jack, and a firefight ensued between the DI team and the castaways. Sawyer was nearly shot by a DI worker above him, but it was Kate who had his back that time as she shot the worker dead. Sawyer grabbed Phil and forced the others to drop their weapons. He shouted at Jack to drop the bomb, and he exchanged a sad look with Juliet as Jack threw Jughead into the well. After a few moments it became apparent that the bomb had failed to detonate, prompting Sawyer to grumble that they were not at LAX. Then a deep hum started far below ground, as all the metallic objects in the vicinity started to be pulled into the well. Phil managed to grab a rifle and threatened Sawyer, when rebar being yanked towards the well, impaling Phil in the chest.

When Juliet was caught in chains and pulled into the hole, Kate grabbed the chains and held on long enough for Sawyer to hear her calls for help. Desperate, he grabbed Juliet's hand and held on, telling her not to let go. But it was to no avail, Juliet saw that the scaffolding was collapsing and would take all three of them down, and she told Sawyer she loved him before letting go. Sawyer became despondent with grief, and Jack and Kate were forced to drag him off the structure before it collapsed. ("The Incident, Part 2")

2007 (Season 6)

Sawyer survived the detonation of Jughead, and woke up adjacent to the Hatch crater. Upon seeing the crater, Sawyer angrily kicked Jack into the hole, believing that the plan had failed. Kate quickly stepped in to prevent a fight. An argument erupted between Jack and Sawyer, one which was promptly interrupted by Kate, hearing Juliet's muffled cries for help. Sawyer, Jack, Kate, Jin and Miles turned their attention towards freeing Juliet, who was trapped under a massive amount of metal. Using the DHARMA van, the group managed to clear away enough of the wreckage for Sawyer to climb into the mountain of metal. Inside, he found a badly injured, but still alive, Juliet.

Moving away some wreckage, he took Juliet into his arms, comforting her. They kissed, and just as Juliet told Sawyer that she had something important to tell him, she died. As he was carrying Juliet's body out of the twisted metal, Sawyer stared hatefully at Jack, and said, "You did this." ("LA X, Part 1")

Later, Sawyer asked Miles to help bury Juliet's body. After they had buried her, Sawyer demanded that Miles use his gift to determine what Juliet had to tell him. Despite Miles' claims that he cannot make his ability work, Sawyer threatened him, and Miles heard Juliet's last thoughts, "It worked," relaying them to a confused Sawyer. Afterwards, Sawyer, along with Miles, was captured by the Others and brought to the Temple, although Sawyer put up a considerable fight. After coming back to consciousness, he found himself alongside the other survivors, he informed Kate that he didn't want to kill Jack, saying "he deserves to suffer on this rock just like the rest of us." Sawyer was then among the witnesses to see the dead Sayid suddenly awaken. ("LA X, Part 2")

After Sayid awoke, Sawyer asked Kate how many guards she thought there were, indicating that he was planning on making a break for it. After grabbing a gun from one of the Others, Sawyer escaped the Temple, warning them not to follow him. A distraught Sawyer was next seen tearing up the floor boards in his house at the Barracks and recovering a box from underneath them. He then heard someone inside the house and threatened to shoot them, until he realized that it was Kate.

The two then had a discussion on the submarine jetty where Kate began to apologize for Juliet's death, blaming herself for it because she convinced Juliet to return to the Island to stop Jack's attempt. However, Sawyer stopped her and said that it was his fault, saying that he convinced her not to leave the Island three years before because he did not want to be alone. Sawyer then revealed to Kate that he was intending to propose to Juliet and threw the ring into the water. ("What Kate Does")

Shortly after Kate departed from the Barracks, Sawyer was visited in his house by the Man in Black. Sawyer almost immediately saw through the Man in Black's disguise as John Locke, and demanded to know who he was and what he wanted. The Man in Black replied that he wanted Sawyer to accompany him, and Sawyer eventually agreed. During their trek, they encountered a strange boy in the jungle. The Man in Black was surprised to learn that Sawyer could see him too, and pursued the boy deep into the jungle, leaving Sawyer all alone. Shortly after, Sawyer was found by Richard, who attempted to get him to go back to the Temple, claiming that the Man in Black was planning to kill him and all of his friends. However, at that moment, the Man in Black returned, and Richard was forced to retreat back into the jungle. When asked who he was talking to, Sawyer lied and said he had not been talking to anyone.

Sawyer demands to know the identity of the Man in Black. ("The Substitute")

Sawyer continued to grow wary of the Man in Black, and, eventually, heeding Richard's warnings, pulled a gun on him. When he demanded to know who or what the Man in Black was, the Man in Black responded by telling him that he had been a man once. He knew what pain felt like, and suffering. He even knew what it felt like "to lose somebody you love". Sawyer, subdued, put away the gun and continued traveling with the Man in Black.

At the end of their journey, they arrived at a steep cliff leading straight down to the ocean. The Man in Black descended a long wooden ladder, and Sawyer followed carefully. The Man in Black then moved himself onto a rope ladder just alongside the wooden ladder, seconds before the wooden ladder snapped beneath Sawyer's weight. The Man in Black grabbed Sawyer as he fell past, and pulled him onto the rope ladder, thereby saving his life. The two then entered a large cave, where the Man in Black promptly removed a white stone from a scale and threw it into the water, referring to it as an "inside joke". He then led Sawyer deeper into the cave, to a room with a ceiling carved with names of six of the survivors of Oceanic 815, along with many other crossed out names, each corresponding with a number. The Man in Black stated, "this is why you are all here". He revealed to Sawyer that Jacob had made him a candidate, a protector of the Island. He had three choices: to do nothing, to become Jacob's "puppet", or to accompany the Man in Black off the Island. Sawyer chose the third option. ("The Substitute")

Under unknown circumstances, Sawyer arrived at Claire's hut, one or two days after his encounter with the Man in Black at the cliffside cave and woke a captive Jin up. Jin insisted that they escaped the hut as fast as possible, but Sawyer replied he was with Locke. He added that he knew that the man he was following wasn't really Locke, but he didn't care as long as he got them off the Island. At that moment, the Man in Black arrived with his new recruits from the Temple, including Kate and Sayid. Sawyer later discussed the whereabouts of their friends with Kate who also questioned him about his alliance. Sawyer replied he was with nobody.

The group trekked until MIB stated there was a clearing ahead and that they would camp for several days. Sawyer interrupted and demanded to know when they would be getting off the Island. The Man in Black appeared annoyed and insulated James so they could talk in private. They arrived at a beach with a view of the Hydra Island. "Locke" tasked Sawyer to take an outrigger to Hydra in order to "do some recon". He added that there was a plane there which they would use to fly off the Island and furthermore reassured James that nobody would hurt him because "[Sawyer] is the best liar [he has] ever met".

Sawyer obeyed and took an outrigger to the Hydra Island. Some time later, James discovered the plane as well as a pile of decaying bodies—the former passengers of the flight.

At that moment, he noticed Zoe, a woman who introduced herself as the only survivor of the Ajira massacre. It was, however, evident that she was lying. When Sawyer attempted to pull his gun on her, four armed men appeared from the bushes, took him prisoner, and led him to Widmore's submarine at the Hydra Island dock. Zoe introduced him to Charles Widmore himself. Sawyer attempted to make a deal with him: he promised he would bring the Man in Black to Widmore's doorstep so Widmore could kill him, as long as he and his people would get a safe passage off the Island. Widmore accepted the deal. When Sawyer returned to the main Island, he revealed everything he had noticed in Widmore's sub to the Man in Black, including his own deal with him. "Locke" stated that he appreciated Sawyer's loyalty.

After nightfall, however, Sawyer joined Kate next to a fire and revealed to her that his intention was to leave the Island by Widmore's sub, not the plane. ("Recon")

The next night, as Jin prepared to leave the camp, Sawyer approached him and asked where he planned on going. As Sawyer attempted to explain that he had a deal with Widmore, Jin continued to refuse, saying that he was going to go look for Sun. Suddenly, along with the rest of the camp, the two were struck with darts and passed out. Zoe and Seamus came and took Jin. When morning came, Sawyer witnessed Locke and Sayid prepare to leave to Hydra Island in an effort to retrieve Jin.

Later, when Locke returned to camp alone, Sawyer asked where Sayid was. Locke then proceeded to tell him that Sayid had stayed behind to find out exactly what Widmore had locked in the room on the submarine, stating that he didn't like secrets. ("The Package")

When the other survivors arrived at the camp, Sawyer told Hurley they were going to use Charles Widmore's submarine to escape the Island, Sayid was with the "dark side" so he was not invited. Locke gave Sawyer a rough map to get a boat and to bring it to collect them all and take them to Hydra Island. Sawyer asked Kate to come with him. Sawyer whispered to Jack that he wasn't going to rendezvous with Locke but wanted him to find a way to sneak off with Sun, Hurley and Frank to meet them at an old dock. They would then all go to Hydra Island to meet Widmore, with whom he had a deal. When Sawyer and Kate arrived at the coast, Kate asked about Claire but Sawyer replied that Claire was dangerous. They swam to the Elizabeth. When the others arrived at the boat, Kate convinced Claire to join them, against Sawyer's will. When Jack told Sawyer he didn't want to leave the Island again, Sawyer ordered Jack to get off the boat and not talk that "crazy talk." He added that he was done with the Island and that if Jack wanted to take a leap of faith he should take it, so Jack jumped off the boat after apologizing for Juliet's death. Kate screamed at Sawyer and demanded that he turn the boat around to get Jack, but Sawyer refused her request. When Sawyer's group arrived at Hydra Island, it appeared that they had been betrayed and they were held at gunpoint by Widmore's men. ("The Last Recruit")

Widmore's men brought the group, including Sawyer, Kate, Claire, Hurley, Frank, Sun, and Jin to the Hydra Island cages. After being provoked, Sawyer easily disarmed Widmore's goon Seamus of his rifle, and prepared to liberate the group. Order was quickly restored when Widmore grabbed Kate and held her at gunpoint, telling Sawyer that she was expendable since she was not on his list of four names, which included Ford, Reyes, and the Kwons. Kate protested, but Sawyer surrendered his weapon, and the survivors were locked in the cages. As Widmore directed them inside, he told Sawyer, "You may not believe this but I'm doing this for your own good," to which Sawyer replied, "You're right. I don't believe it."

Later that night, Sawyer asked Kate if she remembered the cliffside cave he had told her about, where all the names were written, and confessed that her name was there too, but was crossed out, also saying, "He doesn't need you, Kate." Shortly thereafter, Sayid powered off the pylon fence generators, and the Smoke Monster appeared, quickly dispatching Widmore's men. Jack grabbed the keys off of Seamus and freed the survivors from the cage. ("The Candidate")

The next morning, Sawyer, Jack, Sayid, Kate, Claire, Frank, Sun, Jin and Hurley made their way to the Ajira plane to meet Locke and make their escape. Locke came out of the plane with a brick of C4, explaining that Widmore's men had wired the aircraft to explode. Since they could not be sure that there were not more explosives on the plane, Locke directed that they would take Widmore's submarine. Sawyer pretended to agree with Locke, noting that he had been in favor of taking the sub all along. On the march there, however, he secretly asked Jack to get Locke in the water when they arrived and make sure he did not board the submarine. When they reached the submarine, Sawyer led the first wave of survivors into the sub, including Frank, Sun, Jin, and Hurley. He and Frank quickly subdued the crew and hijacked the craft. While this was happening, a shootout began on the surface between the remaining survivors and Widmore's men, during which Kate was shot. When Jack brought a wounded Kate into the sub, Sawyer headed to the surface hatch to grab Claire, who had remained behind fighting Widmore's men. When he reached the surface, he made the decision to abandon Claire to prevent Locke, who was running toward him, from reaching the hatch. Sawyer slammed the hatch closed, and told Frank to submerge the submarine.

Jack was tending to Kate's wound, when he discovered the C4 bomb with a timer counting down in his backpack. After Sayid explained that the bomb could possibly be rendered inert by pulling both wires simultaneously, Sawyer made the decision to diffuse the bomb, Jack attempted to stop him, explaining that they were playing exactly into Locke's hands and if they did not touch the bomb, they would all be fine. "James, we are going to be ok. You just have to trust me," he said. Sawyer could not trust Jack, and pulled the wires on the bomb. For a moment, the timer stopped, at 1:31, then began counting down faster. Sayid ran with the bomb down the hall, saving the survivors from the brunt of the initial blast, and killing himself in the process. As Sun became pinned under a cabinet and pipes, Sawyer, Jack, and Jin worked to free her until Sawyer was hit in the head and knocked unconscious. Jack kept Sawyer above water, and tried to save Sun, until Jin ordered him to get out of the submarine and save Sawyer. Using a small tank of oxygen, Jack swam with Sawyer to the surface, and was about to revive him when Sawyer coughed up water and began to breathe. Sawyer remained unconscious on the sand as Jack, Kate, and Hurley reunited on the beach and mourned the loss of Sun, Jin, and Sayid. ("The Candidate")

Sawyer and Hurley watched as the sea washed up flotsam from the destroyed sub. At Jack's urging, they set off to find Desmond in the well that Sayid mentioned. As they hiked, a miserable Sawyer suggested that he himself was responsible for the deaths on the sub, because he attempted to diffuse the bomb against Jack's advice. Jack insisted that Locke killed them. Later, the group met up with Jacob. After Sawyer challenged him, Jacob explained that he didn't drag anyone out of a happy existence but that they were all flawed. He said that he chose them because they were all like him - all alone, all looking for something that they couldn't find. He said he chose them because they needed the Island as much as the Island needed them (this, in Sawyer's case, is true). ("What They Died For")

Sawyer joined Jack, who was standing in the river, and asked him if he was O.K. He then asked what was going on. When Jack explained everything to the remaining survivors, Sawyer guessed that Locke didn't have what he needed, which was Desmond. They all accepted that they didn't know much so Sawyer went to get Desmond out of the well while the others got ready to go to the heart of the Island. Sawyer watched Locke by the well, until Ben came up behind, and pointed a cocked rifle at him and invited Sawyer to join them. Sawyer told Locke he came to get Desmond out of the well but when he looked down the well, he noted that they were both beaten to the punch. Sawyer guessed that Locke was here to get Desmond because Locke needed him to destroy the Island. Locke confirmed that it was his plan but he was not going down with the ship like Sawyer and the rest of "Jacob's little candidates". Sawyer took the drop on Ben and punched him, taking his rifle and as he leaved, he said that they were not candidates anymore. Locke made no effort in chasing him. ("The End")

Sawyer found Jack, Kate and Hurley and told them Locke was going to destroy the island and mentioned the importance of them finding Desmond before Lock and Ben did. Kate snatched Sawyer's gun and shot at Locke, to no effect, while Sawyer tried to stop her. Later, Sawyer asked Jack how he was going to kill Locke. Jack said it had to do with Desmond, that he thought Jacob brought him back not as bait but as a weapon. They moved through the bamboo forest and as they drew close to the Source, Locke drew his knife and said it should just be him, Jack and Desmond from here on, leaving the rest behind. When the storm came, Sawyer, Hurley, and Kate lifted the tree where Ben was trapped. Sawyer said Locke was right, the Island was going down, and they needed to get on that plane. ("The End")

When Jack, with the help of Kate, killed the Man in Black, Sawyer and the rest arrived. After saying goodbye to Jack, Hurley and Ben, he and Kate jumped off a cliff and swam to the sailboat. Once they arrived at Hydra Island, they saw Claire. While Kate convinced Claire to come along, Sawyer noted that they had to move and pointed at the Ajira plane. Arriving just in time, Sawyer, Kate and Claire boarded the plane, leaving the Island for good. ("The End")

Flash sideways

In the flash sideways world, James's parents still died because of the con of Anthony Cooper, but he chose to be a police officer instead of being a confidence man. He was in Australia in search of Anthony Cooper, but it is unknown if he still killed a man while down under. He doesn't use the nickname "Sawyer".

Flight 815 and LAX

James, when walking down the aisle of the plane, accidentally bumped into Marshall Edward Mars, who told James to watch where he was going. James stopped and apologized while looking and smiling at the woman sitting next to Mars, Kate Austen.

During the flight, James overheard fellow passenger Hugo Reyes telling another passenger (Leslie Arzt) that he won the lottery. After Arzt left, James warned Hugo that he shouldn't tell people about winning the lottery because they'd take advantage of him. Hugo, unconcerned, replied that that wouldn't happen because he was the luckiest man in the world.

Later, when Cindy, the flight attendant, ran past James' seat with a first aid box, he stopped her and asked what was going on. She told him that everything was okay. As she left, James muttered sarcastically under his breath that everything seemed "peachy."

When the plane landed at LAX, James left the plane right after Hugo.

When leaving the airport, James shared an elevator with Kate, and said to her that they were on the same flight. He then noticed that she was wearing handcuffs, which she tried to cover up with a jacket. The elevator stopped, and two airport security personnel entered. When the elevator started again, a security alert came through on the security personnel's radio. James asked what the alert was, and one of the guards told him that it was confidential. The elevator stopped again, and James, assuming that the alert was about Kate, stopped the guards from getting off so that Kate could get a head start. ("LA X, Part 2")

As a police detective

Pretending to be a con man, James took part in an undercover operation with the LAPD that led to the arrest of an actual con man's wife. When he arrived at his desk at the LAPD office the next day, James began to call a list of men named Anthony Cooper to inquire about whether they had been in Florida in 1976. As he was making the calls, Miles approached James' desk and James made a point of hiding what he was doing from Miles. Miles asked about James' supposed trip to Palm Springs. James had previously lied to Miles by telling him that he was going to Palm Springs instead of Australia, so he became flustered when answering Miles' question. That night, James went on a blind date with Charlotte Lewis, a coworker of Miles' father. The date went well until Charlotte discovered a notebook labeled "Sawyer" at James' place. She opened the notebook and found that it contained personal information about the deaths of James' parents. When James saw Charlotte with the notebook, he became very angry and ordered her to leave. ("Recon")

The next day, James was confronted by an angry Miles, who discovered that James lied about being in Palm Springs. Miles was so livid that he told James he no longer wanted to be his partner. Later, while the two of them sat in James' parked car, James opened up to Miles and told him about his parents' past and the reason he went to Australia. During this conversation, another car crashed into James'. The woman driving the car jumped out and fled into a nearby alley. The two men caught up to her and discovered that she was Kate Austen. ("Recon")

That same day, James questioned Kate in the police station while waiting for the marshal to arrive. Miles interrupted their conversation so that he and James could go to Omer Jarrah's house to arrest Sayid for murder. ("The Last Recruit")

Later, Miles reminded James about the benefit concert set for that evening at the museum where Miles' father worked. He jokingly asked James to go as his "date," but when James discovered that Charlotte would be there, he passed on the invitation. James then went over to the holding cells to hand over Sayid, Desmond and Kate for transfer to a prison. Kate made her last bid for James to let her go, but although he seemed tempted, he told her it was not going to happen. ("What They Died For")

Awakening and moving on

James Ford readied for a day's work and saw the mirror he broke. Later that day, Miles thought he saw Sayid in the Hummer so he called Ford and got him to check that Sun Paik was all right at the Hospital. Once Ford got there, Jin and Sun smiled and said they were safe. Ford was confused and said he had to do his job, but Sun said they'd see each other again the same night. Ford asked what that was supposed to mean but didn't get an answer. Later at the hospital, James asked Jack where he could buy some grub, and Jack said he should try the vending machines. When Sawyer's candy got stuck in the machine, Juliet came to help him. When she handed him the candy, he saw flashes of their relationship. A warm reunion followed. They met up with the rest of the survivors in the church and James, now Sawyer again, moved on. ("The End")

Character overview

Since the beginning, Sawyer put distance between himself and the other survivors, acting egocentric, outspoken and insensitive. Also, he has a dark sense of humor, making many cynical remarks and calling people by nicknames. He often shows indifference, believing in the idea "every man for himself". Despite being immature, Sawyer is a very smart and talented liar, living through numerous cons. He doesn’t kill as easily as Sayid, but carries weapons often, and can make serious death threats.

All of this is mostly a mask, because Sawyer wants to hide the pain he has felt since his childhood. He tries to have (in Kate’s words) everybody to hate him because he doesn’t want to get close, most likely in an attempt to keep from getting hurt. Yet he has proven many times that he genuinely cares for his friends, having gone to far extents for them (especially Kate and Claire) numerous times. When being protective, Sawyer makes threats to the enemies, that can come true (he killed Tom for taking Walt away). Being one of the most intelligent survivors, many saw him as a would-be leader, a role he reluctantly accepted. When he has feelings for a woman, Sawyer can be emotional and give completely unexpected signs of kindness.

Sawyer loves to read and used to smoke at the start of the series. He is the male character that had the most sexual intercourse on and off the island.

Sawyer was the seventh and last character to have a flash-forward. He was also the second character to have a flash-forward without being part of the Oceanic Six, and the first character to have an on-island flash-forward.

Sawyer is one of the seven characters to have a flashback, a flash-forward and a flash-sideways episode centered around them. The other six are Hurley, Sayid, Kate, Sun, Ben and Jack.

Sawyer holds the record longest gap between centric episodes of a living, lead character, with 38 episodes (two of which were two-hour episodes) aired between "Every Man for Himself" and "LaFleur" while still remaining a regular.

Sawyer is responsible for the death of Locke's father and may have inadvertently contributed to the death of Jack's father. He strangled Anthony Cooper and purchased alcohol for Christian Shephard that may have contributed to his heart attack.

In his conversations with Jack and Locke's fathers both joked about being in hell: Christian joked that Australia was as close to hell as you could get without being burned, and Anthony joked that they weren't on an island, and were in fact dead, and that it was a "little hot for heaven".

James Ford, 'Satan's Ferryman', was a historical character from Illinois. He acted as civic leader but in reality was a Mafia Don-like criminal.[1]

James Sawyer is one of the people Edmund meets in the novel Edmund et les ours explosifs by Yaruch Bann.[2]

Sawyer appears to be a fan of the Star Wars films. On the raft he refers to Jin and Michael as Chewie and Han, in reference to Chewbacca and Han Solo. In "Not in Portland" he mentions The old Wookiee prisoner gag. He also calls HurleyJabba and BenYoda at one point. Also, his second name, Ford, may be a reference to the actor Harrison Ford who portrayed Han Solo in the original trilogy. In "House of the Rising Sun", in a conversation with Kate about moving to the caves, Sawyer's line of dialogue: "well, that's the real trick, isn't it" is the exact same line Han Solo delivers in Star Wars.

When he mentions that Sayid cannot join the group of people in MIB's group that are leaving with out them in "The Last Recruit" as he has gone over to the dark side. Hurley says "But, you can always bring people back from the dark side, like Anakin." He states "Who the hell is Anakin?"

This may be explained by the fact that the movie was released while the Oceanic Six were off the Island (2005), and therefore Sawyer had no knowledge of the story.

After the first 10 episodes of Season 1, Sawyer wasn't seen smoking again. Either he ran out of cigarettes or he decided to quit.

Sawyer is the only character whose political affiliation is identified. In "Outlaws", he tells Kate that he has voted, but never for a Democrat, implying that he is a Republican.

Sawyer says that he has never had a blood transfusion or taken pills for malaria, but he has paid for sex and received a sexually transmitted disease.

Sawyer is assumed to live with his grandparents after the death of his mother and father. We know they were alive because they are referred to by Mary Ford.

Or he could have been raised by the uncle who would later die of a brain tumor. When auditioning for the role of Sawyer the script stated Sawyer had been raised by his aunt and uncle and that he learned how to become a con man from his uncle. (Lost: The Complete First Season)

He seemed fairly close with his uncle Doug after his mother's funeral.

Lived in a trailer-home and watched Little House on the Prairie as a child.

The report that Locke read that told him about Sawyer's past included an Interpol report written in French.

An alternate ending scene for the Season 4 finale was shot featuring Sawyer in the coffin to deter spoilers.

At the end of Season 4, Sawyer is the last remaining member of the 14 original main characters to still reside at the beach camp set up in Season 1.

In almost all of his appearances Sawyer has worn a button up shirt with the sleeves slightly rolled up and top two buttons undone. He's worn two t-shirts, two long sleeved t-shirts and one shirt without sleeves.

Sawyer is one of 22 main characters to have their names appear in a soundtrack title.

Sawyer is one of five main characters to survive the series, not counting flash sideways.

Sawyer is the only character to have his picture appear on the back of all 6 DVD cases.

Sawyer, along with Hurley, was one of two main characters who rarely used their real names.

Sawyer is the second one who visited the most stations from the survivors. Since Jin, Sun, Sayid and Locke are dead and Desmond isn't a survivor, Sawyer is after Kate the most station explorer visitor.

Sawyer might have infact visited all the Dharma Stations as he worked in The Dharma Initiative as the Head of Security.

Cultural references

The name Sawyer is a reference to the character Tom Sawyer from Mark Twain's literary works. Tom Sawyer was an orphan and budding con artist from the south. His earliest and best known con involved whitewashing a fence, in which he convinced the local boys to pay him for the privilege of painting a rather long and difficult fence. "He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it – namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain."[3]

James's letter to Mr. Sawyer begins, "You don't know who I am, but I know who you are." This echoes the opening line of Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: "You don't know about me, without you have read a book by the name of 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,' but that ain't no matter."

The name Sawyer may also be a reference to the fictional character Jack Sawyer who appears in the novels "The Talisman" and "Black House" by Stephen King and Peter Straub.

The names James and Ford may possibly be a reference to the infamous American outlaws, Jesse James and Robert Ford. James was a notorious member of the James-Younger Gang, who staged a series of successful robberies in the mid-19th century. Ford was a young upstart outlaw who befriended James, and later murdered him, collecting the $10,000 bounty on James' head.

Interestingly, Robert Ford's father was named James Thomas Ford.

Both are referenced in the Bob Dylan song, Outlaw Blues: "I might look like a Robert Ford, but I feel just like a Jesse James!"

Sawyer may be based on Ralph, a character from the famous classic, Lord of the Flies. Also many other characters share similarities with characters from the book.

LaFleur, a name that Sawyer adopts as his DHARMA persona, is also the name of a Buddhist scholar (William R. LaFleur) who wrote The Karma of Words: Buddhism and the Literary Arts in Medieval Japan. Dharma is a Buddhist concept, which seems to support the connection.

Biblical references

Two of Jesus' apostles were named James.

One of these apostles had a brother named John. Along with Peter, the brothers James and John formed the inner circle of apostles.

Additional casting

Keegan Boos portrayed Young Sawyer in "The Incident, Part 1". The casting call described him as "Young Jeff. Caucasian. 8 to 10 years-old, blonde hair, soft southern accent if possible. Hazel/Light brown eyes. Gone through much in his young life. Anger hides a deep pain. He's a tough kid with a wounded heart."[4]